Key findings: There are many indicators available that can be used to indicate improvements in the business environment. Some indicators focus on the microeconomic, business-focused factors, while others concentrate on the macroeconomic and policy factors. In addition to indicators with an explicit focus on business and investment climate, there are also indicators, such as ...» more
Signature and Compliance with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)
There is an abundant literature which documents the process of signing and complying with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), as well as the benefits of doing so. However, with the exception of a detailed case study on Nigeria, few studies examine the political, economic and social factors that have led governments to sign and comply with the EITI. Expert ...» more
Employment Intensity of Growth in Agriculture
Key findings: Employment intensity of growth of the agricultural sector is a measure used to quantify the effect from growth in the agricultural sector on levels of employment. Existing research suggests that growth of the agricultural sectors in middle- and low-income countries (including fragile and conflict affected states) does not necessarily lead to increased employment. ...» more
Mobile telephony innovation to improve education service outcomes
There is a wide and growing interest in the use of mobile telephony to improve education service outcomes. The first part of the report identifies the key lessons learned and recommendations for policy makers relating to the use of mobile telephony to improve education service outcomes, though with a general focus on mobile phone-assisted learning. The second part identifies a ...» more
Literature and debates around behaviour change
There is a large literature around behaviour change, drawing from a number of disciplines including psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, and neuroscience. Within these disciplines there does not seem to be a particularly outstanding group of literature or debate and it is highly contestable what the strongest groups of literature seem to be. There are a number of ...» more
Approaches to better target audiences
There are a large number of approaches to target audiences, especially in relation to behavioural change with varying underlying theories of behavioural change. This report provides an overview of these variables and the theories and approaches of behavioural change which employ them. Audience segmentation can be defined as a 'data-based method of identifying smaller target ...» more
Impact of electoral measures on elections and a country’s development
Elections can have a positive developmental effect in developing countries, such as improved economic policy, especially when elections are conducted well (Chauvet and Collier, 2008). However, there is little evidence on the impact of specific electoral measures on elections, and this study found no evidence of a direct link between electoral measures and a country’s ...» more
Examples of successful fuel subsidy removal
Where fuel prices are controlled and subsidised by the government, price increases have often met with broad public opposition and, in some cases, violent demonstration. Where governments have been successful they have needed to ensure that reform was politically feasible and the impact on influential groups was mitigated. There are a number of countries which have instituted ...» more
Overview of key governance issues related to natural resource management
General trends in governance have an impact on natural resource management. The trend towards decentralisation and strengthening local democracy has affected the comparative influence of actors at different levels on the exploitation of natural resources. Trade is also likely to become an increasingly pressing issue. It has profound impacts on domestic and local governance of ...» more
Poverty and vulnerability in DRC
Analysing data on the DRC is extremely difficult. Robust, geographically disaggregated data on poverty in DRC is scarce, with most analysis focused on Kinshasa or DRC as a whole. A lot of data has not been processed and data from national and different multilateral agencies can contradict each other. There is a need for greater capacity to identify and understand the nature of ...» more
Donor Experience Working with Traditional and Religious Institutions
Donor experience with traditional and religious institutions is poorly documented. Donors generally seem reluctant to engage directly with religious institutions, with the notable exception of USAID. Where donors do work with traditional and religious institutions this tends to be through local or international NGOs. When working on women’s issues in an Islamic context this is ...» more
Monitoring and Evaluating Civil Service Performance
There continues to be debate as to how best to monitor and evaluate civil service performance. This debate relates to what to measure, the best indicators to use, whether such a framework is appropriate and how best to implement a chosen framework. ...» more
Private Investment Constraints in the Poorest Countries
The private sector in the poorest countries faces many constraints of which poor access to affordable capital is one. It is not the case that there is no access to capital for many entrepreneurs in the poorest countries. Rather the cost of borrowing may be too high, the institutional environment may make formal borrowing seem onerous or potential borrowers may be unaware of the ...» more
Local Government Capacity and Leadership in Fragile Areas
There are a range of tools and methods available to measure, assess and monitor local governance, based on assessment by citizens (single stakeholders), by local government institutions, or by multiple stakeholders. In terms of specifically assessing capacity there are tools which produce capacity assessments for the purposes of Capacity Development (CD). For example ...» more
Investment Climate Constraints in Fragile and Conflict Affected States
The investment climate can be understood as the set of factors in a given location that shape firms’ incentives and opportunities to invest, grow and create jobs. Some of these factors are costs; others are risks; still others are the competitive forces in the economy. Together, they determine the vibrancy and reach of private sector firms in the economy. A strong investment ...» more
Political Economy of Sierra Leone
Key findings: Political economy analysis is concerned with the interaction of political and economic processes in a society: the distribution of power and wealth between different groups and individuals, and the processes that create, sustain and transform these relationships over time (Collinson, 2003). Despite a large body of research on the Sierra Leone Civil War there is ...» more
Review of Justice Sector Support in Afghanistan
There have been extensive efforts to support the justice sector in Afghanistan with different donors specialising in different areas. While some have argued that through such specialisation donors have produced positive outcomes others argue that efforts have been piecemeal and devoid of an overall strategy. Support has been donor-driven rather than locally-owned, has focused ...» more
Critique of Governance Assessment Applications
Governance assessments are based on subjective indicators (or measures), objective indicators or a combination of the two, known as composite indicators. Composite indicators are the most popular and are used by international organisations, donors, investors and the media (Arndt, 2008). Of these the most popular seems to be the World Bank’s World Governance Indicators (WGIs). ...» more
Evaluation of Governance Programme Indicators
Literature on performance indicators for governance programmes is sparse, and disparate in nature. In general such literature criticises the approach of applying quantitative indicators to governance programmes, or criticises the confusion of which aspects to monitor. The main weakness in the literature is a clear understanding of the relationship between governance projects ...» more
Impact of ‘Resource Curse’ Mitigation
Initiatives to address the resource curse vary in the harms they address and in whether they operate at a national or trans-national level. They include attempts to: reduce corruption through the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI); counteract the ‘Dutch Disease’ using Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs); curb funding sources for militia through the Kimberly Process ...» more
